I’ve never really been one to force a book on another person. You know, walk up to them and physically put the book in their hands and say, “You should read this!” It just isn’t really my style. Yet I’ve now done so – twice – with Chris Bohjalian’s Trans-Sister Radio.

This entire story revolves around transsexualism. From the first page to the last, that is the unrelenting focus. If you’re at all uncomfortable with the topic, stop reading now and choose a different book – this one pulls very few punches.

Allison is an elementary school teacher with a daughter about to go off to college. She’s been divorced from Will for many years and the two have settled into a relatively comfortable co-parenting relationship. Allison has had boyfriends over the years, but hasn’t remarried and has never been overly serious with any of her suitors. Until the arrival of Dana Stevens. Dana is a professor at the local university in this small Vermont town. Allison is taking his film and literature class during her summer break and finds herself attracted to this quiet, intellectual man. Soon they find themselves in an ever more serious relationship until Dana drops a bomb: soon he will become a she.

The book is presented in an interesting format. Chapters often begin and end with bits of a radio program produced after the events described in the main story. Both Will and Carly (their daughter) are active in Public Radio and the story of Allison and Dana eventually becomes a piece for NPR (a fictional NPR). These bits don’t give much away – we know from the very beginning what the story is about – they simply give some perspective on what the characters were thinking at the time. Our narrator is not omniscient; we travel from first person to first person depending on the chapter. We know what they think, but the radio bits give us an idea of what other characters were thinking while they weren’t narrating.

Certainly the most central aspect of Trans-Sister Radio is its absolutely unflinching look at transsexualism. We’re given an inside view from Dana and an outside view from the others. There are scenes that graphically describe the procedures involved in turning a man into a woman (graphic in the medical sense) and there are scenes that graphically describe the relationship between Allison and Dana (graphic in the sexual sense). Combine the two and that’s a lot of graphic. This may turn some readers off, but I found it all fascinating.

One of the most fascinating aspects is the depiction of the difference between gender and sexuality. Dana wants to change his gender; he does not want to change his sexual orientation. He is not a gay man, and he fully intends to be a lesbian woman. His feelings for Allison remain; the question is what of her feelings for him? At its core, this is a love story. Just how much can someone change on the outside and still be the person you love on the inside? How much difference does the package make in the end? That’s what Dana and Allison explore, as well as the social ramifications of their relationship in their very small town.

Trans-Sister Radio will not be a book for everyone. Those upon whom I foisted my copy were people I know well enough to predict their lack of reservations about either the subject matter or the graphic depictions. It isn’t a book about being gay. It isn’t a book about having a sex change; it’s a book about the nature of gender, sexuality and love. The book moves at a steady, not frantic or hysterical, pace - with no draggy, slow spots or irrelevant or uninteresting subplots.

Bohjalian draws extremely likable characters, wanting to know their fate is what drives the book. They aren’t perfect and their situation may be far afield from most readers’ personal experiences, but we can still relate to them on a basic level. Allison can be frustratingly stubborn and closed-mouthed, but she is also loving, accepting and open to this unusual situation. Dana can be insecure and nearly sycophantic in his devotion, yet is kind, gentle and deeply cares for Allison and her family. They’re wonderful characters. Regardless of what we ultimately come to think of their relationship, we care about these people. They’re interesting, complicated and, in the case of both Dana and Allison, explore topics and dilemmas that I had honestly never even considered. It’s the kind of book that makes you ask yourself, “What would I do?” In my opinion, that’s the very best kind. Five enthusiastic stars.


Recommended: Yes